Nature of Case:
In September 2012, the Animal Welfare Institute and its co-plaintiffs brought suit against the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission over the Commission's decision to allow spotlight hunting of coyotes at night throughout North Carolina, including in the area inhabited by the only wild population of red wolves, one of the world's most endangered animals. The lawsuit alleged that the commission violated the North Carolina Administrative Procedure Act when it adopted a temporary rule to allow coyote hunting at night with artificial lights on public and private lands throughout the state, placing an endangered species in harm's way. Wake County Superior Court suspended this night hunting rule on November 21, 2012, and granted AWI et al. injunctive relief, enjoining the commission from allowing night hunting of coyotes with artificial lights within the Red Wolf Recovery Area in Dare, Tyrrell, Hyde, Washington, and Beaufort counties under the temporary rule.

Nature of Case:
The 2012 victory applied only to the temporary rule. AWI and co-plaintiffs still had to address the commission's authorization of all coyote hunting in the five county Red Wolf Recovery Area. We brought suit on October 17, 2013, arguing that, by authorizing the shooting of coyotes within the Red Wolf Recovery Area, the commission is causing unlawful take (i.e. harass, harm, hunt, or kill) of the red wolf. On May 13, 2014, A federal court issued a preliminary injunction blocking the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission's authorization of coyote hunting—including at night—in the five-county area of eastern North Carolina inhabited by the red wolves.

2015 Case Name:
Red Wolf Coalition, Defenders of Wildlife, and Animal Welfare Institute v. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service et al.

Nature of Case:
Starting in 2015, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) not only began to neglect its red wolf recovery and management duties, but also started issuing permits allowing landowners to kill red wolves on private land. In addition, the agency began capturing and removing the wolves from private land and announced that it was suspending red wolf reintroductions in 2015.

Defendants:
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service; Dan Ashe, in his official capacity as Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; Cynthia K. Dohner, in her official capacity as Regional Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region

Protection of Red Wolves: Background

The red wolf (Canis rufus) once ranged throughout the eastern and southcentral United States. Intensive predator control programs and the degradation and alteration of the species' habitat had greatly reduced its numbers by the early 20th Century, however. Designated as an endangered species in 1967, the red wolf was declared extinct in the wild in 1980. In 1987, an experimental population of red wolves was reintroduced into eastern North Carolina.

In February of 2012, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) proposed to allow—via a permanent rulemaking process—hunting of coyotes and feral pigs at night without bag limits, with the use of artificial lights, and without restriction on the use of electronic calls for coyotes. In addition to expanding hunting of coyotes and feral swine to night hours, the new rules would allow bow hunting of these animals on Sundays on private lands. Although the NCWRC adopted the permanent rules, citizens filed almost 40 objection letters to block implementation of the rules under state law. To get around this delay, The NCWRC approved these hunts on July 12, 2012, via a temporary rulemaking procedure without notifying the public—a maneuver that violates state administrative procedural laws.

The Animal Welfare Institute and its co-plaintiffs brought suit against the NCWRC and its director seeking a preliminary injunction against the adoption of this temporary rule to allow coyote hunting at night with artificial lights on public and private lands throughout the state, arguing that this rule was adopted in violation of the North Carolina Administrative Procedure Act and poses immediate harm to endangered red wolves in the state. The lawsuit alleged that the commission violated the North Carolina Administrative Procedure Act when it adopted a temporary rule to allow coyote hunting at night with artificial lights on public and private lands throughout the state, placing an endangered species in harm's way. Wake County Superior Court suspended this night hunting rule on November 21, 2012, and granted AWI et al. injunctive relief, enjoining the commission from allowing night hunting of coyotes with artificial lights within the Red Wolf Recovery Area in Dare, Tyrrell, Hyde, Washington, and Beaufort counties under the temporary rule.

However, the 2012 victory applied only to the temporary rule. AWI and co-plaintiffs still had to address the commission's authorization of all coyote hunting in the five-county Red Wolf Recovery Area. We brought suit on October 17, 2013, arguing that, by authorizing the shooting of coyotes within the recovery area, the commission is causing unlawful take (i.e. harass, harm, hunt, or kill) of the red wolf in violation of the Endangered Species Act. On May 13, 2014, a federal court issued a preliminary injunction blocking the NCWRS's authorization of coyote hunting—including at night—in the recovery area. Despite this, later that year, the USFWS announced that it would review the status and future of the Red Wolf Recovery Program in North Carolina, potentially terminating it and pulling the red wolves out of the state.

With the hope that red wolves will continue to have a permanent home in North Carolina and obtain additional reintroduction sites in their historical range, AWI and its co-plaintiffs in the suit entered into a settlement agreement with the NCWRC. This agreement outlines significant steps to protect endangered red wolves in North Carolina, including banning coyote hunting at night throughout the five-county Red Wolf Recovery Area and during the day on public lands, except in limited circumstances. It also requires permits to kill coyotes on private lands, mandates reporting of all kills, and prohibits coyote contest hunts throughout the recovery area. Overall, the settlement aims to continue to decrease threats posed by indiscriminate coyote hunting, while also addressing the concerns of local private landowners and state and federal agencies that are in charge of red wolf recovery.

Since 2008, more than 20 red wolves have died from confirmed gunshot. Gunshot is the suspected cause of death for an at least 18 additional wolves. Five tracking collars cut from red wolves were also found during this period, indicating to USFWS personnel that wolves may have been shot and disposed of unlawfully. Since 2012, five shooters who killed red wolves have reported to authorities that they mistook the wolves for coyotes.

Starting in 2015, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) not only began to neglect its red wolf recovery and management duties, but also started issuing permits allowing landowners to kill red wolves on private land. One of the animals killed was a mother red wolf, known to be exhibiting denning behavior. The wolf was killed simply because the landowner didn’t want her on his land, not because she was engaging in any dangerous or offensive behavior.

Losing even one wolf has huge repercussions for the species; not only does it place the mother wolf’s pups in danger, but it also eliminates the possibility for that particular wolf to contribute more litters to the population. Furthermore, it disrupts the entire pack’s dynamics, potentially sending other red wolves off to hybridize with coyotes instead.

In addition, the USFWS announced that it was suspending red wolf reintroductions in 2015. These reintroductions—historically done by pup fostering, whereby pups bred in captive facilities are introduced into wild dens and “adopted” by a wild red wolf mother—have been used to bolster other losses to the population since the wolves were first reintroduced. The agency also began capturing and removing the wolves from private land; however, the agency has largely kept the destination of these wolves secret; most likely, many have been placed into captive pens.

As a result, on November 12th,AWI and its allies filed a complaint against the USFWS for its failure to protect the wolves and its illegal action in authorizing the killing of a breeding female red wolf. Specifically, the complaint alleges that the agency’s failure to investigate the status and decline of the wolves’ population and its management actions are harming the survival and recovery of the wolves. Reportedly, the wild population is down from 90-110 red wolves in 2014 to fewer than 45 now. Where once gunshot mortality was the greatest threat to the wild population, now the agency’s neglect and active mismanagement is responsible for the red wolf’s demise. AWI and its allies followed up on this complaint this year, requesting a preliminary injunction from the US District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina to prevent any additional harm to the wolves.

We also launched a powerful advocacy campaign, “The Truth about Red Wolves,” to help spread the word about this amazing animal and drum up public support for the wolf. Thewebsite educates visitors about the ecological and economic benefits that red wolves bring to North Carolina and the country and provides background information, key facts, and media updates on the species. The site was used to generate a petition signed by over 80 private landowners in the area expressing their support for keeping endangered red wolves on their private land.

This year, AWI and allies also submitted an emergency petition calling on the USFWS to take immediate steps to bolster protections by revising the current red wolf regulations in order to reduce red wolf shooting deaths, establish an additional wild population, and reclassify all reintroduced populations of red wolves as “essential” experimental populations instead of “non-essential,” thus affording them more protection in general. In addition, half a million people signed onto a petition in July urging the USFWS not to abandon red wolves.

In September, the USFWS announced a decision that will effectively undermine decades of red wolf recovery and threatened the very survival of the species in the wild. The USFWS has announced that it plans to reduce the range of the existing wild population to two areas within Dare County and increase the captive breeding population without definitively committing to ever reintroducing captive-bred wolves into the wild. After two years of neglect at the hands of the federal agency, the wild population has dropped from a total of 90-110 wolves to approximately 28, with only three known breeding pairs. AWI and its allies will be working to ensure that wild-born wolves are not removed from the wild and that this species has a chance of recovering in parts of historic range in moving forward.